We are less than a week away from the release of iOS 12 at WWDC but Apple isn’t done with iOS 11 just yet. The much awaited iOS 11.4 update has been released to the public and it brings two big new features – Messages in the Cloud and AirPlay 2. There’s a bunch of other small additions and bug fixes as well.
Messages in the Cloud
It’s that one iOS 11 feature that we have been eagerly waiting for since Apple announced it almost a year back now. It was expected to come with iOS 11.3 but for some reason, it got pulled back at the beta stage. It’s finally here and it works wonderfully.
Once you enable Messages in the Cloud (by going to Settings > iCloud > Messages > Toggle on), all your Messages are automatically synced across all devices using the same iCloud id. This means once you sign into a new device your entire messages history will pop up by itself. Cool, isn’t it? In the same way, when you delete a message on one device, it’s removed from all other devices as well. No more going to each device to clear your message history!
Another big advantage of Messages in the Cloud is that your old messages (including media) are shifted to iCloud, which frees up space on your device. You can always download previous messages at the click of a button. It’s truly the best of both worlds scenario.
AirPlay2
The other flagship feature added in iOS 11.4 is the update to Apple’s wireless audio streaming software – AirPlay. With AirPlay 2, you can now control the music selection and volume of multiple devices from one place. This multi-room support includes controlling the playback on your Apple TV (4th generation and above) and HomePod.
While there’s no doubt that AirPlay2 is a significant upgrade, its utility is restricted in India because we are still waiting for the launch of HomePod and Apple TV hasn’t been selling too well either.
Other Updates
iOS 11.4 also brings a few minor additions like fixing 3D Touch lag on iPhones, added option of controlling Apple Music on Apple TV using Siri and other performance upgrades.
You can now download iOS 11.4 on all devices are support iOS 11 by going to Settings > General > Software update. Go ahead, this one is definitely worth updating.
